Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

Also in Illinois, a report finds that 175,000 Chicago residents are eligible for insurance but remain uninsured. Elsewhere, media outlets report on enrollment developments from Florida, Maryland, Texas and Minnesota.

The Chicago Tribune:
Blue Cross Premiums Jump More Than 17 Percent In Illinois
Some [Illinois] health care consumers are seeing rate increases of 40 percent or more. Rate increases for the lowest-cost plans in the majority of counties are in the 15 to 20 percent range, according to the Illinois Department of Insurance. Blue Cross is the target of a lot of consumer unhappiness. The state's dominant health insurer raised 2016 premiums an average of 17.8 percent on individual policies sold on or off the exchange, according to HealthCare.gov. (Sachdev, 11/17)

The Chicago Tribune:
About 175,000 Eligible But Uninsured In Chicago Area
During the third season of open enrollment under the health care law, the Obama administration has called on Chicago and other cities with large numbers of uninsured to increase their outreach to help people gain coverage. ... In Illinois, more than 300,000 are enrolled in marketplace plans. But that represents only about one-third of those eligible for insurance under Obamacare. In the Chicago area about 175,000 people are uninsured but eligible for insurance. (Sachdev, 11/17)

The Miami Herald:
HHS Secretary Burwell Visits Miami To Promote Obamacare Enrollment
With more than a million Floridians signed up for coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchange — and nearly as many still uninsured but eligible for some type of plan in 2015 — Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell visited Miami on Wednesday to make a hard sell for people to enroll. She toured an enrollment center at Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus downtown, met privately with South Florida healthcare leaders and held a press conference where she introduced a Miami small business owner who pays $75 a month for coverage through the exchange. (Chang, 11/118)

The Baltimore Sun:
Advocates Find Problems With Lists Of Health Exchange's OB-GYNs
For the second time in a year, consumer advocates have found that the specialists listed as available to those who bought health insurance on the state exchange aren't all that available. When the advocates tried to call the obstetrician-gynecologists in the online directory of insurers' in-network providers, they found the list so outdated that only about 22 percent of the 1,493 practitioners were accepting new patients, performed well-patient visits and had appointments available within four weeks. (Cohn, 11/18)

Minnesota Public Radio:
Allison O'Toole Chosen As MNsure CEO
MNsure's board of directors has unanimously chosen interim CEO Allison O'Toole to become it's permanent leader. O'Toole took over MNsure last spring and was not a candidate for the permanent CEO job. A search committee had named just one finalist, Minnesotan Mark Nyquist who's worked for UnitedHealth Group and General Mills. (Zdechlik, 11/18)

This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.

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